Say whaaaaaaaaa?
I do not think that word means what you think it means.
The saddest part is this isn’t an isolated incident: long ago, some anti-suffragist douche whose dance card was probably never occupied managed to turn “feminism” into a bad word. Every day, pro-women-in-power peeps distance themselves from anything to do with the ones called Feminists.
But here’s the rub: given the majority of the lady naysayers’ college educations, careers, and right to vote [to name just a few], there’s a frak-ton of confusion going on.
So, for your consideration, Sneaky Side Effects of Feminism:
1. Alternatives to the MRS Degree
Don’t get me wrong: I have nothing against housewives. If you really are happiest at home, then, by all means, go for it. But for those of us going down career paths, we owe that billion-dollar degree to our foremothers. You know, the ones who stood up and told the menfolk, “Hey, we deserve the right to have insurmountable college debt, too.”
2. Voting
Pretty self-explanatory, eh? But apparently there are still some folks out there who forget that NOT EVEN A CENTURY AGO, the so-called “fairer sex” had zero voice in government. If you’re feeling low, just Google “American suffragettes” and pump your fists to the infinite photos of women in flowery hats and dresses being dragged off by police.
3. Bromance
I know what you’re thinking: those movies that’re complete sausage-fests and depict the lady-characters as uptight douches? Da fuq? But think about it: prior to the Apatow-volution, men weren’t really all that okay with talking about their feelings, and hugging, and crying, and doing so without saying “no homo.” The birth of bromance flicks made all that relationship stuff a-okay, and now you can’t turn a corner without hearing a couple of bros tell one another, “I love you.”
Also, every action has a reaction. The reaction here being funny women out of work banding together to make gems like Bridesmaids.
4. Boy Bands
A lot of people don’t know this, but here’s a feminist secret: we feminists are in it for the men, too. People of alllllll genders and sexes, really. That two-columned crap-fest, where words like “strong, independent, and intelligent” are under “Men,” and “docile, emotional, and weak” are under “Women”? Boy bands helped kick off a whole movement of “man-tenance.”
The latest beneficiary being Justin Bieber.
The 90s brought about an explosion of bleached and/or long hair, man-jewelry, and dancing n’ sync. And the culprits were seen as completely sexy.
5. Magic Mike
Though Magic Mike wasn’t the raunch comedy I originally expected, it did propose a different kind of LOLfactor: the millions of other women who also thought it’d be about Channing Tatum and other mancandies strutting their junk for two hours. But these women (and men!) had good reason for all their zeal: they can probably count on their fingers the number of opportunities they’ve had to ogle celeb goodies in the presence of others, without shame. In its own way, the excitement over Magic Mike was all about women finally owning up to their own horniness and deep-rooted fantasies. Which all too often lose favor when Megan Fox saunters across a screen.
6. Condoms
Not ready for a baby just yet, because of school/your budding career? Family planning is all thanks to those women of yore who wished there were more job options for their sisters/daughters/etc. AKA We aren’t baby factories.
7. That Whole G-Spot Mystery
Would anyone REALLY care about the G-Spot if they didn’t also wonder about lady pleasure as much as man pleasure? You can throw the clit in there, too. Let’s not ignore those things.
8. Oprah
If Oprah hadn’t come along, where the heck would the rest of us be? The lady who beat out the Beatles in Time’s 100 Best Pop Icons list has done a crap-ton for a crap-ton of people, and if she hadn’t found a way to be on TV, we’d be lost. True fact.
Now, bear in mind the brevity of this list. There’re probably hundreds of other benefits the women/people in general of today are still reaping, and still so many more people of color, queer women, etc., are waiting to see. But the point is: you just can’t escape it.
